Remembrance
by rockflyer
Summary: GL is mysteriously attacked by an energy designed to destroy him from within, and Shayera is left powerless to help him, or is she? HGGL VXGL
1. Routine

GL is mysteriously attacked by an energy designed to destroy him from within, and Shayera is left powerless to help him… or is she?

Remembrance

Chapter 1: Routine

Shayera Hol walked into the massive control center that some of it's personnel nicknamed the 'Halls of Justice', impressed with all of its high tech monitoring systems, computers, and briefing room all in one. With all the heroic personnel that were on duty, it was difficult for her to keep track of all of the new faces.

_This is completely different than it was on the Watchtower_, she thought, walking up to a small group of heroes that were preparing for the night shift briefing. Peering over to her left, she spied Vixen, and J'onn at one of the security screens displaying a super structure.

"I'm at the site, but there's something strange with the readings I'm getting," a voice called over the speaker system.

"What exactly are you seeing, John?" J'onn requested.

"I'm not sure, I'm gonna see if I can pick up any thermal patterns…"

"All right. Flash is on his way to give you backup."

"Understood… Lantern out."

"What's going on?" Shayera asked, approaching them with a concerned look on her face.

" Nothing special… typical terrorist threat," Vixen informed her. "Someone called, claiming that a bomb was planted at the Cyber Seven manufacturing plant, and that it will explode within the next fifteen minutes. John was in the area, so he's checking it out."

"Oh… isn't that the same plant that was threatened last month?"

"Yeah… but it turned out to be a false alarm. Hopefully, this will be the same."

Shayera turned, and headed for the lockers to store her gear, not realizing that Vixen had followed.

"I hope John can hurry, I've made a eight o'clock reservation at Maggio's," she said, with a hint of boasting in her voice, reaching to open her locker, four lockers away from where Shayera stood, opening her locker door, as well. Pausing, Vixen looked over at Shayera for a moment.

"So… how are things with you and Carter? Are you guys still dating?"

Shayera smiled, knowing the basis to her inquisitiveness. "Dating? I don't know… after finding out about his fixation with my thanagarian past… the jury's still out."

"What? You're going to let a little fixation stop you from having a good time?" Vixen remarked, not satisfied with her answer. "C'mon, girlfriend! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Right where it's always been…" Shayera offered sheepishly, closing the locker door, progressing back toward the Command center. "I'm just taking my time…"

_Uh huh…_ Mari thought, not liking that Shayera was not willing to move on.

Returning to the briefing room, Shayera strolled to where she could listen to what was going on with John's search. She was a little worried when she found out that he was searching for another bomb. The thought gave her a chill, and she suddenly wished that she were there to back him up.

"John, this is Flash… I just arrived at the north-west end of the structure… any luck?" his voice radioed.

"Not yet… I'm on the southern end, working my way north. Let's meet in the middle."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Two minutes before the detonation," J'onn informed them. "Anything?"

"Nuthin' here," Flash chimed.

"Same here… waitaminute…" Lantern reported. "Picking up something… at sector three, that's strange… it isn't very big though…"

Cyber Seven Manufacturing Plant

Lantern streaked downward; cutting a hole into the roof of the building with a laser beam, placing the dissected section onto the roof, and then descended downward onto the floor, spying the rectangular device, examining it for anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm taking it out of here… it's radiating some kind of black light."

"Be careful," J'onn's voice radioed back.

Encompassing the device within an energy bubble, Lantern turned and streaked upward, back through the hole, and out into the night sky.

Within the shadows of a nearby rooftop, a dark figure reached upward, pointing a metallic box directly at the departing hero, depressing a button.

Flash spotted his friend's departure as he sped within the structure's compound, when he witnessed a small explosion within the green energy bubble, just behind the unsuspecting Green Lantern. The explosion didn't seem to be very powerful, but it's own energy did not behave like that of an ordinary bomb. It transmitted an aura of its own, an aura of yellow energy, quickly overtaking the original green aura that Lantern's ring emitted.

"Uuuuarrrggghhhhhhhhh!" John's anguished scream filled the night air, as the energy dispersed brightly, concentrating upon the ring itself, then electrical yellow energy exploded throughout his body, causing him to fall awkwardly, slamming into the ground with a sickening thud.

"GL!"

Flash raced towards him, unable to comprehend what had just happened. When he reached his friend, John laid there, practically lifeless, his eyes wide open. Wally grabbed him.

"J'onn… I need immediate evac… beam us back now! Now!"


	2. Investigations

"What happened!" Vixen cried, racing to Lantern's bedside, clasping his hand into hers.

"I don't know, we're still in the process of trying to find the cause…" J'onn said calmly.

Watching from the observation window, Shayera's heart sank when they brought him in, fighting back the tears, she maintained her composure, as the Martian continued with his examination. There was no movement, no indication that he was even breathing, he just remained lethargically still, his eyes, no longer emanating the familiar green aura that she was accustomed, only stared upward, bleeding yellow energy, his body still aglow with the arrant poison. She knew that this was his one weakness, apparently someone else knew as well.

Flash, standing next to her, looked at her solemnly, then back at their fallen comrade, shaking his head.

"He was carrying some doohickey within his bubble, and then the thing exploded. I guess 'popped' would be a better word, and suddenly… he was enveloped in that yellow energy field. If only I had gotten there before…" his voice trailed off.

"It's not your fault, Wally," she said, placing her hand on his arm. Then, Mari brought John's hand to her lips, talking to him. Suddenly, Shayera turned, and headed back toward the Command Center.

"Where're you goin'?" Flash asked.

"I can't do this…"

"Do what?"

"Stand here and do nothing, that's what," Shayera replied, walking away. "I gotta find out what happened to him out there."

"Oh," he said, looking back through the glass momentarily, realization dawning onto his young face, "Oh! Then, I'm coming with you."

* * *

The light was bright within his mind, but there was no sound, no vision, and no smell. Complete whiteness. Looking down, he saw that he still wore his Green Lantern uniform, but he knew that something was different. Was he dead? No. Somehow he'd known that, because one thing did remain. Thought. But he couldn't fathom why he couldn't see or hear anything. The silence was deafening, much so that it made him feel completely alone. 

_What happened to me? Where am I?_

Slowly, he began to focus his thought, trying to get a bearing on where he was. Nothing. Then he tried a little harder, remembering the lessons he'd picked up during his youth, but mostly from his days as a trainee for the Green Lantern Corp.

_Focus… Stewart. Concentrate! You've got to clear your mind._

Before long, multiple colors, and shadows began to swirl into a blurred fuzziness, slowly becoming more, and more defined with each passing moment. Until finally he found himself within a small, darkened room, lying across a child's bed, looking up at a mobile hanging from its ceiling. It was a mobile depicting Earth and its solar system.

_What the hell? This looks like my old room when I was five years old…_

Looking to his right, he saw something that made his heart lurch. A small boy was lying next to him staring at the far end of the room. Stewart jumped up, and eyed the young boy closely, unable to make out his face, because he had the bedspread pulled up to his tear-filled eyes, and he was shaking uncontrollably with fear.

The source of the boy's apprehension came from a small closet, shrouded in the darkened corner of the room, its doorknob jerking slightly, as if something was trying to open it. Then a low, audible howl resounded from within, making the young boy cower even further behind the blanket, hoping to use it to shield off whatever was making the eerie noise. John heard it, too, his face registering recognition of the young boy's plight.

Suddenly the closet door appeared to fling open where a huge shadow leapt forward, causing the young boy to scream hysterically.

"Grandma!"

There was a thunderous barrage of footfalls outside of the bedroom door, when it suddenly flew open where a portly, silver haired, black woman, clad in a cotton night gown stood in its doorway, baseball bat in hand.

"Johnny, boy! What is it!" she said with a raspy voice.

"It's after me, again!" the boy cried, pointing to the closet door.

_What the… Gram! _

"Awww. It's ok, sweetheart. Look," she said, switching on the light, illuminating the room. "There's nothing there, see… it's just the shadows playin' tricks on you."

The little boy hesitated, and then peered at the door again, however this time in the light, it was clearly shut, and the shadow that seemed to have lunged towards him was just a jacket hanging on its doorknob, swinging harmlessly from a strong breeze blowing through a slightly opened window.

"It was so real… I t-thought that it j-jumped at me…" little Johnny stammered weakly. "I'm s-sorry, Grandma…"

Gram smiled, her elderly form walking past a stunned John Stewart, over to the open window and closing it, then walked back, sat upon the bed, hugging the little boy, "Think nothing of it, child. These kinds of things do happen, even to the bravest of us. All you gotta do is remember what my Pappy taught me. Do you remember?"

"Yeah… I remember. You got nothin' to fear, 'cept fear itself…"

"Which means?"

"That… um, no matter how scared I am, I… um… got to learn to face my fear…" pausing his recitation, rolling his eyes up to the left, trying to remember the meaning of the old adage.

"And?"

"By facing it, I can control it?" he asked.

"That's right… and it won't be able to control you, okay?"

"Okay…" he yawned, reaching both arms upward, stretching his small frame.

She then turned off the light, then tucked him in, sitting on the edge of the bed, and waited patiently, watching him slowly fall asleep. She then got up and kissed him on the forehead, and left the room, as the boy snored softly.

John sat on the edge of the bed, trying to make sense of what he'd just witnessed.

_Good ol' Gram… she used to do that for me until I was seven, because I was so scared of the dark. Extremely scared. But Gram's been dead for years… What the hell is goin' on? _

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and he was no longer sitting on the edge of the bed, he was now standing in the middle of a city street, standing below a streetlamp. He looked around slowly at the surrounding buildings, listening to the sounds of the night. _Gotham City?_

There was a fluttering of wings off in the distance, followed by footfalls that moderately clanked upon the pavement, as the owner of the sounds emerged into the encirclement of light.

"Dad?"

* * *

"Anything?" Shayera asked, landing lightly, upon the warehouse roof, after spotting Batman kneeling next to the dissected hole, inspecting the area. 

"What are you doing here? I'd think you'd be where you'd be most needed, right now," he asked, facing her.

"Vixen's got it covered," she retorted, uneasily.

"Hmmmm… It's not easy standing by, is it?"

"It doesn't' matter. Besides, it's not like I have the right to say anything about it, now do I?"

"Are you sure about that?" he probed lightly, returning to his work.

"Never mind that… what have you got?"

"I can see that Lantern left from here, and was forced down there into the compound. Unfortunately, I don't see what caused it," he replied, seeing that she was annoyed.

Flash zipped up suddenly, "Hey guys, what I'd miss?"

"Nothing. We're still trying figure out what happened," Shayera said, taking off into the air.

She looked back at Flash, shaking her head. "Sorry for the way I took off back there."

"No problem, I understand," Flash said, running down the building, and stopping at the spot where he'd found Lantern earlier. "This is where John fell."

Shayera landed, kneeling down to the concrete. "There nothing here…"

Batman swung down on his bat cable, and landed next to them.

"You're right… there's no bomb residue of any kind. No clue as to what detonated," he said, perplexed.

"Who would do this to him, who has the ability to stage an attack like this?" Shayera questioned.

"Luthor is still on the loose, except he hates the League, not just GL," Flash surmised. "I'm sure John has long list of baddies of his own, that would probably want to cause him harm."

"Yeah, that's true, but I believe that this 'bomb threat' was used to lure Lantern here, to this spot," Batman stopped, and looked upward. "Maybe that… is the only clue that we have."

Shayera followed his gaze, spotting the object that had caught his attention. A video camera mounted onto one of the rooftops across from the compound.

"You two head back to the 'Hall'. I'll meet you there in an hour," Batman said, reaching outward, firing his bat cable, pushing down on its retract button, where the cable became suddenly taut, pulling him upward.

"Shayera…?" Flash spoke, his mouth suddenly dry, watching the dark knight disappear over the rooftops.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to find out what happened to him. We're gonna save him."

"I hope so… Wally. I really hope so… C'mon, let's head back."

* * *

J'onn J'onzz was puzzled. He'd thought he had seen many forms of medical mysteries during his time on Earth, but this one clearly had him baffled. No matter what he had attempted, he could not penetrate the yellow energy field that left his friend paralyzed. 

"J'onn?"

Vixen stood there before him, her face, fear stricken, and full of questions.

"I apologize, Vixen. I've tried to run a multitude of tests, even a spectral analysis on what has become a part of Green Lantern's body, but it's impenetrable," he sighed, looking at John. "I've even tried to get into his mind, to see if he knew or maybe could share anything that could prevent what is happening…"

"And?"

" I couldn't get through. There's a barrier around his mind… stronger than any I've ever encountered."

"So… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I have failed… there's nothing that I can do…"

"You are right in saying that… my green friend," a voice came from the entryway of the infirmary. "There is nothing that you can do…"

Vixen and J'onn turned to see that the voice belonged to one of the three newly arrived Green Lanterns, Katma Tui, accompanied by Kilowog, and Kyle Rayner.

"The only one that can help in this matter… is John Stewart himself," she continued.

"How?" Vixen asked.

Katma walked over to where John laid, placing her hand on his, "That… I'm afraid, is totally up to John Stewart."

"But there's one problem…" Kyle Rayner added.

"What?"

"He has to fix this before his power ring loses its charge, because if he doesn't…"

"What…? W-what will happen?" Vixen responded, unable to think clearly.

"John Stewart… will die," Katma finished.


	3. Relations

"I don't understand… what does Lantern's ring have to do with his survival?" J'onn said, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"The barrier you spoke of," Katma explained, "is generated by the ring and right now it is protecting John Stewart's upper brain functions as well as his vital organs."

"I see, and without this barrier, the energy field would have the ability for deeper penetration, thus causing further damage."

Katma nodded her agreement.

Vixen walked over to the bed, not believing what she was hearing, taking John's hand into hers. "How did this happen? It was just a routine recon mission…"

"What if this had been a planned attack…?" Shayera asked, entering the room with Flash, dismay on both of their faces.

"Hello, Kat, Kilowog," she acknowledged somberly, as they exchanged handshakes.

"Hello to you, Hawkgirl," Katma greeted.

"I'm sorry, but I don't go by that anymore, my name is Shayera Hol."

"Well, I am sorry to see you again under such circumstances. I don't think you've met Kyle Rayner, have you?"

"No." she nodded to Rayner.

"I'm sorry… I don't mean to be rude, but, what were you saying, Shayera?" Vixen interrupted.

"Well… it's possible that John may have been the target all along and this 'bomb threat' was the means to get him there."

"Bats went to grab the surveillance tapes from the plant to see if they'd shown anything," Flash added, looking at his friend.

Rayner walked over to Katma whispering something to her. Kilowog followed as well, as they all spoke to each other. Finally, all three shook their heads in unison.

"There may be a chance to somehow talk to John Stewart telepathically…" Katma offered, stepping in front of J'onn.

"However, it can only be attempted by someone who has been…" she paused, looking to Vixen, and then eyed Shayera uneasily, "'intimate' with him, someone that he may be thinking about at this moment. With that type of closeness the ring may allow entry."

"Entry?" Vixen asked.

"Into John Stewart's mind..."

"And how do you propose that we do that?"

"All that is needed is a medium to provide the 'bridge'." Katma turned to face J'onn, "Do you have access to such a device?"

"I don't, but perhaps there is one who may know of where we can get one," he said, stepping toward the door, looking back. "In the meantime, I suggest that we move Lantern into a place that has far less traffic."

"I'll take care of it, J'onn," Vixen said, looking briefly at Shayera.

* * *

"Shayera and Flash mentioned that you were collecting the surveillance tapes from the plant," J'onn said, hopeful for some good news. "Any luck?" 

Batman, while seated at his massive computer console, displaying the Martian's image, didn't bother to look up as he continued setting the controls.

"Got them already, but they're inconclusive… The video shows that there is movement within the shadows, but… it's going to take time for the computer to extrapolate the data. Whoever did this, J'onn, was well aware of the cameras," Batman replied, dissatisfied.

"Well, do you think you can help with the other matter?"

"I'll see what I can do. Batman out."

The massive computer screen, blinked for a second to replace J'onn's image with the current readings and progress reports, as the computer worked speedily on its task.

Batman, stopped, narrowed his eyes as he brooded for moment, placing a gloved hand across his mouth absently, "Hmmmm…"

* * *

Amanda Waller walked into her office of the newly re-located headquarters of Cadmus, and proceeded to pour herself a freshly brewed cup of coffee. She knew that it would take some time getting used to this new location, and sighed upon that thought. 

"You should really drink 'green tea' instead of coffee… it's better for the blood," a rasp-filled voice said unexpectedly from the shadows.

It frightened her slightly to the point where she'd almost dropped her cup, but she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of that knowledge.

"Isn't Faraday your liaison now?" she turned, facing him.

"This is an unofficial visit…"

"What do you want, Batman?"

"You heard about the attack on Green Lantern?"

"I have, and let me tell you that we had nothing to do with it," she said.

"I know. If you did, I would have been here a lot sooner…"

"So… why are you here?"

"I need a favor…"

"A favor?"

"Yes, I need the C.A.T.T."

"W-what? How do you know about that?" Waller questioned.

"I have my sources… I need it now."

"How do I know that you'll return it?"

"You don't… but if it will help, you have my word," Batman scowled.

"You do know that it's just completed its preliminary stages, right? And, the results have looked very promising."

"Doesn't matter…"

"All right, I'll make the necessary arrangements…" she said, placing her cup upon her desk.

When she looked back up, he was gone. _I really hate it when he does that… _

_

* * *

_

"Rex… I didn't expect to see you here…" Stewart said, seeing his future son standing under the street lamp, the light sparking off of his armor, still confused with the sudden change in environment.

"It's okay, Dad. You just need to relax, that's all," Rex Stewart said, reassuringly, removing his mask. "After all, it was you that brought me here."

"Where is here, exactly?"

"Your consciousness or subconscious, not sure really. But I do know that it's in your mind."

"Okay…"

"Dad, I need to ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you love my mother or are you just in love with the idea that she could bear you a son?" he asked with a disheartening look within his green eyes.

Stewart caught the look, remembering how much it reminded him of her, "I'm not sure what you mean by that…"

"It seems that you are confused, Dad. The question is very simple. Are you in love with Mom? Shayera Hol? My mother?"

John looked down, pondering. _Is it that simple? _"Son… I wish it were that simple, except when it comes to your mother and me… it's very complicated."

"That's not what I asked you, Dad. Why is it so hard for you to answer my question, to confront whatever it is that you're afraid of?" he said with frustration.

"I don't know… I-I can't think straight whenever your mother is around me…"

"Well?"

John Stewart stared at his son, unable to explain the emotions that he felt since she had returned into his life; unable to control the feelings he had carried in his heart for so long.

"Yes! Okay… yes, I'm in love with your mother… is that what you want to hear? Okay… I said it; there… it's finally off my chest. _All right… now what does that change?_

Rex Stewart smiled broadly. "Then it's not about her just having your son, then?

"No… it never has been. I've loved your mother long before you entered my life. What's complicated is the relationship I have with Mari… I don't want to hurt her. She deserves better."

"Are you in love with Mari, too?"

John looked into Rex's eyes and sighed, "No… I care for her, but no… I'm not in love with her, because no matter how hard I'd tried to fight it… I realize now, that I'm in love with Shayera."

Father and son embraced each other, as their emotions ran freely.

"That's all I wanted to know, Dad. That's all I wanted to know."

"That's just like you, human…" a voice said, within the shadows, behind them, beyond the lit boundaries of the street lamp.

"W-ho?" Stewart said, turning.

The form of a winged man stepped into the light, wearing the helmet of a proud Thanagarian commander, sneering as he gripped his war axe in one armored hand, lightly pounding it into the palm of his other.

"You steal another man's woman, so why not the son, eh?"

John Stewart stepped protectively in front of Rex Stewart. "Talak…"

* * *

The C.A.T.T. looked more like a metal globe with two cylindrical probes that jutted outward, about two inches from its platform sitting within a high tri-pod that extended about ten feet above John Stewart, now lying on a gurney, while it was also angled to face Mari Jiwe McCabe, who was settling herself down into a recliner. 

"Cognitive Amalgamated Thought Transducer…" Flash said, reading the acronym that was stenciled onto the device's casing, and then turning toward J'onn, wearing a dumbfounded expression. "Huh…? How's this gonna help GL?"

"It allows 'Subject A' to enter into the mind state of 'Subject B', in which the two subjects begin to mentally share their thoughts, becoming one so to speak…" J'onn explained, making the final adjustments as he aligned the output probes to point at Vixen, the other at John.

He looked over at Flash; "It was originally designed to allow family members to have communications with comatose patients."

"Leave it to Cadmus to change its use altogether, by developing it as an interrogation machine," Batman finished, heading for the doorway. "I'm heading back to the Batcave, to check on the data. I'll call you when I have something."

"Oh, sure thing, Bats… see ya! Humph… so this is where our tax dollars are goin'," Flash smirked, staring up at the machine, wondering out loud.

Shayera walked in, followed by Katma, as she smiled at Vixen. "You ready?"

"Ready, as I'll ever be…" she smiled back.

"All right, good luck," she said, backing away sluggishly, standing with her back against the wall, next to the doorway.

Katma studied Shayera's face as she joined her, and whispered, "I spoke with John Stewart, some months back. He'd never mentioned that… well, let's just say… I understand."

"There's nothing to understand, John went on with his life. I'll have to do the same," she responded aloofly, stiffening up.

Katma only smiled, as she looked back at J'onn's briefing to where the young woman was seated in the chair.

"Okay, Vixen… A stasis field with a mild anesthesia will be administered to put you into a dream state, where the machine will then begin to merge your mind into John's dream activity," J'onn instructed. "I can telepathically monitor your progress up to the point of entry, after that I can only monitor the readings from the C.A.T.T., understood?"

She shook her head and gave him the thumbs up. _Here I come, Boo…_


	4. Discovery

The pre-ignition sequence of the Batjet's engine began to fire systematically, prompting the turbo contrivance into a slow rotation, picking up speed, until it gradually began to hum with authority, feeding much needed power to its avionics, navigational, and communication systems.

Batman sat within the cockpit, brooding, as he stared at the display screen with scrutiny, where just moments before, he'd considered taking off for the Batcave, but decided against it, thinking that it would be more proficient to first check with the Bat computer remotely. Keying in his security codes to gain access, the plane's computer began to negotiate its connectivity sequence with its host, until finally several symbols appeared upon its enhanced screen.

"Voice print, and security clearance needed," the Batjet's feminine computer voice, stated clearly.

"Batman, security code: Alpha, Charlie, Tango, 3-7-3-2-5-6-6," he replied, dryly.

"Processing…"

"Voice print and security clearance confirmed… please state your request."

"What is the status of case analysis: 'Green light'?"

"Processing…"

"Analysis is complete."

"Display results…"

The computer screen went blank for a moment, then rendered a video, the time and date stamped within both corners at the top of the screen, depicting an angle from a camera deep within the shadows, mounted upon one of the roofs within the Cyber Seven plant, facing the direction of the compound. A short distance away, on the right side of the screen, it clearly revealed the departing figure of the Green Lantern.

"Computer… freeze image…"

Batman examined the data, paying more attention to the area in the lower left quadrant of the screen.

"Computer… magnify grid '3-5-2'… focus, then lighten by three candlepower," he ordered.

"Processing…"

The video panned to the left, settling upon the darkened area of the screen, where at the very top, a thin band of light appeared, scanning downward, then quickly followed by another, appearing on the left, scanning to the right. Several grid-lines pulsed brightly around the darkened area, as the screen was swept diagonally, this time, by a thin beam of amber light, highlighting the proposed area, inversing the darkness to a bright opaque in color, within the registered grid-lines.

The dark knight paused for a moment, studying the screen once more, his mind calculating, until, "Computer… extrapolate known data and employ probability factor '9-2-7' on grid '3-5-2'…"

"Processing…"

A moment slipped passed, when suddenly the computer beeped a loud tone.

"Detected possible humanoid mass, bearing: '1-3-7' mark '2-9-5'…"

Batman's lips parted with a slight hint of a smile, "On screen…"

He stared, as the digitized image slowly became three dimensional, as the computer drew the composite likeness of the unknown subject's height and thickness. Still opaque in color, he had to admit that nothing came to mind as he analyzed the shape.

"Computer… run a search for any profile that may match these estimated parameters against all known databases…"

"Processing…"

"How long will this take?"

"Process may take approximately sixty minutes to compare image to known databases," the computer stated. Suddenly, another alarm sounded from the machine.

"Analysis of case: 'Green light', evidence mark A, is also complete…"

"Show results…"

Batman stared at the computer screen, and double-checked the figures that were there. His eyes widened as he quickly reached for the comm button on the communications console.

* * *

"What are you doing here, Talak?" John Stewart grimaced, staring at the Thanagarian. 

"Do you really need me to answer that? I would think you would already know the reason," Talak smirked knowingly. "After all," he said, scanning the area, "this is your world, your thoughts…"

"Yeah… but I wasn't thinking of you, and to tell the truth, I could care less if I ever saw you again," Stewart countered.

"Ah, but you must admit that I do represent what you are deathly afraid of, wouldn't you say?" Talak teased. "Ever since the day that you found out Shayera was once mine, your whole pathetic life had been thrown into complete disarray."

"Yeah… well, there is one thing that I'm definitely sure of… I'm sure as hell not afraid of you."

"Come now, human. Can you honestly say that you aren't the least bit afraid that she may betray you once again?"

Stewart's face turned to stone.

"Dad… who is this guy?" Rex Stewart asked, disapprovingly, placing his helmet back over his head, taking a few steps from behind his father. "Why is he talking about Mom like that?"

"Hro Talak…" John answered in a sour tone, a line of agitation engraved upon his face, "… and he's a part of the complications that I'd mentioned earlier." A_ major part…_

"I can't believe… that you have the gall to still want a future with the one that betrayed you…"Talak said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, holding his axe at his side, while scornfully eyeing the winged youth, "…to actually believe that this abomination will someday come to exist?"

"He will exist… he's my son… a part of my destiny…" Stewart enunciated boldly, feeling pride in his heart.

"You're a fool, human," Talak said, staring at Rex, as his war axe began to slowly crackle with energy. "He can't be your destiny… if he's dead!"

"W-wha...?"

Before either of them could react, Talak's hand, blitzed upward with the war axe, and fired a beam of blinding yellow energy, hitting the youth point-blank into the chest, sending him crashing into a parked car directly behind him, his body falling to the pavement.

"NO!" Lantern screamed, leaping in front of his future son, intercepting the power beam by erecting a green energized shield, keeping it at bay, peering back at Rex, noticing the searing smoke wafting away from his chest.

"Have you forgotten, little man? I've defeated you once before… and you know that you're no match for me!" Talak boasted, his entire body burning with yellow energy. "Your destiny ends tonight!"

* * *

Flash stood within the command center, staring at his newspaper, skimming through the articles, until finally coming to the conclusion that he had too much on his mind, and that it was impossible for him to concentrate on anything right now. He thought it would have been better for him to come down and provide a little support to night shift crew, than to just stand there watching Vixen prepare to make contact with John. 

However, that was not the true reason for his sudden departure. He saw the look of disparagement on Shayera's face; the look in her eyes that clearly shown that she was broken up on the inside, no matter how hard she had tried to hide it. It was evident that she was still in love with John, and he knew for a fact that GL felt the same way. However, for the life of him, he couldn't begin to understand how these two were not willing to quit the big runaround, and just admit it. Then he shook his head slowly, as he remembered that Vixen was also involved in this 'little' triangle.

_It's none of my business…_ he sighed, resting his jaw onto a gloved hand. _They'll just have to figure that out for themselves… once GL recovers… that is._

Suddenly the communications alarm chimed loudly as Batman's face came across the screen.

"Hey, Bats…"

"Flash, is J'onn still attempting to connect to Lantern's mind?"

"Yeah, he's connecting Vixen to the 'mind' machine right now," he said. "Why?"

"I just got the results from my investigation… I need you to stop them… Now!"

"Can't you just 'think' this to J'onn?"

"I can't get through… C.A.T.T. must be generating some interference…"

"All right, I'm on it…" Flash said, streaking off, heading toward the medical bay.

* * *

Shayera had worked her way to the far side of the room as she watched J'onn work the controls of the C.A.T.T., making the necessary adjustments for the convergence of Vixen and Lantern's minds. The preparation for the process took much longer than she had anticipated, but she knew that it was just her nerves that were making her feel more impatient than usual. Then she mentally grinned at that thought, knowing that patience wasn't exactly her strongest suit. 

"I don't think that she will be able to make contact…" Katma whispered coolly, as she quietly walked up to her.

Shayera, stunned by her statement, whispered back, "How can you say that? You were the one that said it had to be someone who had intimate connections with John in order to make contact…"

"That's not the type of intimacy I was referring to…"

"Then… what kind are you referring to?"

Katma took a step back and looked directly into Shayera's eyes, "The kind that you and John Stewart share."

"Listen…" Shayera paused, as the vision of John's reaction to her 'dress' in the elevator, suddenly clouded her mind. That was days ago, but she had to admit that the attraction was definitely still there... for the both of them. Clearing her throat, she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Kat, it's been almost two years since… um… like I said, John has moved on…"

"In case you've forgotten, Shayera Hol, I was there… on Kalinor, when Stewart lost his ability to control his power ring due to Despero's attack. Which made him so unsure of himself that not even I could help him get back what he had lost, that is, until you showed up. We both know that something happened between the two of you."

"And if I recall, it was because of you that he was there in the first place… or did you happen to forget that little tidbit?"

"Honey… that doesn't change the fact that when he saw that you were in danger… Stewart was able to regain his abilities, and defeated Despero. That's no easy feat, believe me," Katma turned, looking at John's motionless body on the gurney," and it isn't something that is easily forgotten."

"I wish I could believe that… but…"

Before Shayera could finish, she felt a gust of air blast into the room as Flash rushed through the sliding double doors of the medical bay.

"J'onn! Bats said to stop the procedure, he's saying it got somethin' to do with his investigation!"

"What?" J'onn responded. 'I can't, it's already begun. Vixen is en route as we speak!"

* * *

The spiraling onrush of bright colors, and passing sounds created a tempestuous sensation within her, feeling both exhilarating and frightening at the same time, as the countless beads of what appeared to be memory clusters, whizzed uncontrollably past her within the vast panoramic atmosphere of pure thought. It left the perception of her mind free falling, rapidly downward, with no end in sight, then suddenly, without warning, her surroundings jolted to a complete stop, indicating that the journey of traveling through what appeared to be time and space, so to speak, had ended as quickly as it had begun, but nonetheless, it bequeathed Vixen with an experience that was truly unforgettable. 

As her senses caught up with the rest of her, and her stomach began to slowly settle from a mild case of nausea, Vixen found herself within a wondrous landscape of tall buildings, urban streets, and colorful bright lights, under a beautiful star filled sky. The hustle and bustle felt so real to her, even from a distance, though she quickly realized that it was just her mind slowly merging within John Stewart's dream state.

The only concern she had before starting on this little adventure was the use of her powers while within the dream realm, and J'onn pointed out that since it is a reality for her in the physical world, why would it be any different here, as well. From the way she saw it, her 'Boo' needed her, and it wasn't something that, in her opinion, mattered anyway. She just needed to know the facts. J'onn also disclosed that the C.A.T.T. had the ability to put the adjoining subject within close proximity of the target subject, thereby keeping the search parameter to a minimal radius as possible.

Keeping that in mind, Vixen decided to scout the surrounding area, and attempt to get a fix on John's position, but before she could apply any effort into it, something caught her attention, faint noises coming from somewhere behind her. A crashing sound, like metal on metal. Following her instincts, she raced toward the source of the clatter.

A city street that was shrouded in complete darkness except for the lone street lamp that shined brightly from within the distance, which provided her with a beacon to focus upon, until finally she was able to discern what was causing the loud commotion. It was a battle, one that she wasn't prepared to see. Down upon one knee, his body leaning forward, his right arm extended, with his left gripped around his wrist for support, was a struggling John Stewart, using his power ring to shield himself from a multitude of high-energy blasts, coming from a winged Thanagarian warrior. From what she could tell, he was massive, and poised for the kill, towering over the smaller frame of John Stewart, who himself, was standing protectively over another figure that was sprawled on the ground beneath him.

She touched the totem that hung loosely around her neck, and thought, _Power of an elephant!_ And with that ideation, an astral projection of the predetermined animal quickly sprang around her sleek form, and with each step taken, the pavement resonated with the thunderous pounding caused by the one-ton behemoth, as she continued to sprint down the darkened street.

Lantern looked up, feeling the vibration of the massive pounding, as did Talak, realizing that something was approaching quickly from the blackness of night.

Within twenty feet from her intended target, she crashed headlong into an unseen, unyielding barrier that stretched like something caught in some great elastic material, rippling the layered dimensions of dream space around her, preventing her from taking another step forward, from stepping into the light, however it was just enough for her to steal a quick look at Lantern and the figure that was unconscious at his feet.

_John?_

Unable to keep herself grounded, the barrier in effect launched itself completely into the opposite direction, casting her 'body' violently backward, upward into the night sky, across the horizon, as she watched the street lamp shrink further from view with each passing second. Then, her psyche yanked suddenly upward, steadily upward, gaining momentum, as the fabric of the dream world ripped past her with dazzling speed.

"Noooooooo!" she screamed.

* * *

The massive pounding had caused the Thanagarian to lose his focus, giving Lantern an opportunity to launch an offensive of his own. He willed his power beam to split into two directions, one forming a giant hand that leapt backward into a high arc, grabbing the car that was parked behind him. Then with all the strength he could muster within his mind, Lantern lifted the vehicle high into the air, and sent it crashing downward with deadly force, causing the winged man to disappear under the twisted metal. Within that same motion, he willed the other to form an energy bubble around Rex Stewart, and darted upward into the night sky. 

Talak's form began to glow brightly as his anger fueled the power beam to explode outward, blowing the vehicle completely apart, scattering shrapnel everywhere. Taking a step from within the damaged vehicle, he spied a small green object plummeting towards him, from out of the darkness. Flapping his great wings, he lifted himself backwards, into the air, but he was too late, the object exploded with bright green energy, overpowering the winged alien, knocking him brutally into the wall of a nearby building, dispersing his body into billions of specks of yellow spectral dust, that slowly settled to the ground. Then, as if the dust had a mind of its own, began to pull itself together, bonding, slowly rebuilding, until the form of Talak was whole, once again.

Staggering to his feet, Talak looked about weakly, realizing that the Green Lantern and the winged youth was nowhere to be seen. Then he took off into the air, this time, dissipating into a yellow cloud of spectral dust.

* * *

The sounds slowly aroused her from her grogginess, as Vixen realized that she was no longer within the stasis field, no longer attached to the C.A.T.T. machine. 

"What happened?" she ranted angrily, after taking a deep breath, the feeling of nausea returning, as she noticed that Flash, Shayera, and Katma Tui were standing nearby.

"I was there, I saw him! Send me back!"

J'onn looked bewildered, checking the readouts, placing the operations of the machine into a state of idleness, "I can't…"

"What? What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"Because it's too dangerous," Batman spat, entering the room.

"Why do you feel that it is too dangerous?" Katma Tui asked, uncertainty painted on her face, as she approached him, Shayera behind her.

"Good… you're here. I need a Lantern to see this," he said, walking over to a marble counter near the back wall, reaching into one of the compartments attached to his utility belt, pulling out a small plastic bag that appeared to be empty, along with a small dome-shaped device. "Maybe you can tell me what this is…"

Pushing a button on the back of the dome, three equally spaced metal legs quickly extended from its sides, allowing him to place it upon the counter, flat side up, while at the same time a small panel retracted, revealing a lens with a circular beam of light radiating from beneath it. Taking the plastic bag, he placed it upon the miniature platform, and as the light flowed through it, it was then apparent that the bag wasn't empty at all, there were shreds of debris within it, but when he removed the bag from the light, the debris disappeared.

"How are you doing that?" Shayera asked.

"I'm not… this material is reflecting the light off of itself, very similar to the components used when utilizing a cloaking technology. That is… until I used a black light to prevent the refraction."

"Where did you get this?" inquired Katma.

"Once I knew what to look for, I went back to the attack site after I talked to Cadmus, and found the debris of the box that initially 'exploded' while John was airborne," Batman explained.

"Hmmm… Come to think of it, Green Lantern did mention that the box he had found was generating a black light…" J'onn added.

"That's not all…"

Turning the light back onto the debris, they could see that there were remnants of yellow residue.

"I believe that this technology is alien."

"What makes you think that?" Shayera asked.

"I checked the compound against the known atomic table, and there is nothing on this Earth that even comes close."

He turned to Katma Tui, "Can you examine the residue with your ring?"

"I'll try…" Katma frowned. "The real question is that if I do, will it affect me the same way as John Stewart?"

"We're wasting time," Vixen said, getting out of the recliner, her voice almost frantic. "John needs help in there! He's fighting a huge Thanagarian…"

"W-what!" Shayera gasped. "What Thanagarian?"

Vixen looked perplexed, as she suddenly found it difficult to remember, "I don't know… it happened so fast!"

J'onn walked up to her, and held her steady, "Relax, Vixen… let me help you."

His eyes began to glow a pale yellow as he reached down into her mind, and witnessed the journey that she experienced into the dream state. He swept through her memories, until finally, he saw what she saw.

"Green Lantern was fighting someone that looks very much like the Thanagarian Commander…"

_Talak?_ Shayera thought, as fear and guilt began to form in her mind. _Why would John be thinking about him?_

"Strange…"

"What?" Shayera asked.

"His weapon was yielding the same yellow energy that is currently surrounding Lantern's body," he said, as his eyes returned to their normal reddened state. "Does your weapon have that capability?"

"No."

"I have to go back!" Vixen yelled, ripping herself away from J'onn, trying to get back to the C.A.T.T. "Send me back now!"

Before she could take another step, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, as she began to lose consciousness, falling face first toward the floor.

"Whoa!" Flash cried, as he sped over to her, catching her, breaking her fall. "She's out cold… what happened?"

"The strain was too much for her," J'onn stressed, walking over to them, placing his hand over her forehead. "She needs rest…"

He picked her up and placed her upon a nearby gurney, "She'll be fine… I sensed nothing abnormal."

"But, she was only in there for a few minutes…" Flash stated, "What made her pass out?"

"Vixen encountered the barrier while in Green Lantern's mind… she saw the fight and tried to help but the barrier rejected her…" J'onn reflected.

"At first… I thought it was because I pulled her out, however it seems that Lantern's mind would have done so regardless…"

"Waller told me that the machine was still in its preliminary stages, however, she never mentioned if it was ever successful when used on human subjects," Batman ruminated.

"It would seem that 'Subject B' would have to be engrossed in the use of telepathy or have some form of shielding that can protect them from the use of the machine." J'onn concluded.

"Yeah, but who do we know that has that ability…" Flash asked, suddenly looking embarrassed at Shayera. "And has y'know… uh…"

"Been intimate with John, Hotshot?" Shayera appended.

"Um… yeah…"

"It seems that you are the only one who can go in and help Stewart," Katma said calmly, staring at her.

"Yes, why didn't I think of it before," J'onn smiled weakly. "You have a natural barrier within your mind, that could protect you from this 'virus'."

"Virus?" Shayera asked.

"Yes. I believe that it is some form of hallucinogen that may have been designed strictly for Lantern's DNA."

"That would explain John's fight with a Thanagarian."

Batman looked at Shayera steadily, "That may be true, but think about it for a moment… This trap was specifically set for John, possibly… for anyone human."

"If that's your way of telling me that I'm the only candidate, okay… I'll go. But, be sure to tell Vixen, that I'm sorry, and that this wasn't my idea," Shayera smiled briefly, then turned to follow J'onn to the C.A.T.T.

Sitting down into the recliner as J'onn made the preparations to connect her to the C.A.T.T., she turned her head, and stared briefly at John's motionless body. _Please let me in…_


	5. Directions

"The recent Altera Prime incident just may be the catalyst that will hurtle this region of space into a violent insurrection, in which the Green Lantern Corps will be the only hindrance to preventing the conception of a civil war… whereby proves that the affixation of John Stewart's power ring to the Central Battery could be more than detrimental at this time…" a voice stated monotonically, resonating loudly, piercing the stillness around the two Green Lanterns, somber looks on their faces, standing within a darkened laboratory, not far from the Medical Bay in the Metro Tower. The projected images emanated brightly from one of their power rings, revealing a small cordon of blue-skinned aliens practically standing in convergence of each other.

"I am sorry… but, your request is denied…"

"Sir… you are aware that his ring is sure to lose its power soon… and without a re-charge; he will have no protection from the poison…" Katma Tui stiffened uneasily as Kyle Rayner standing to the left of her, looked down at the floor, while both of them ignored the hint of apathy that exuded from their superiors.

"That is precisely why his ring cannot be allowed to make contact…"

"But… he could die!" Rayner interjected.

"Yes…" another replied stoically. "That is a possibility…"

"And we're to do nothing?"

"Katma," the guardian paused, his holographic form taking a few steps closer to where she stood. "There is no one more than John Stewart that knew of the hazards that are conjoined to the appellation of Green Lantern. No one… more than he… would understand that nothing can be done for him… especially if it meant that other Green Lanterns would be at risk, and I believe… that both of you know this as well…"

A moment later, Katma Tui blinked back her disappointment as the realization to the logic behind the guardian's contention took hold, and just shook her head in agreement as the other guardians looked on with no apparent emotion.

"But…" Rayner began to protest further, but a light touch of Katma's hand on his arm, told him otherwise. Nothing would dissuade their decision and that if John Stewart would be saved, it would have to come from someone other than the Guardians.

"Very well… Please contact us once your investigation has concluded."

"Of course…" she answered placidly.

The projected images grew weaker as the energy field crackled quietly into nothingness, the stream of the emerald rays retracting back into Katma's power ring. Turning, deep in thought, she took a few steps, pondering on what to do next.

"This bites!!" Rayner spat, breaking the silence, clinching his fists, following her towards the anteroom that led back into one of the main hallways. "We gotta do somethin'!"

"I agree…" she sighed, annoyed with the results of the brief meeting, but now knowing that John Stewart was clearly on his own. "Let's see if Kilowog has had better luck in finding a way to help Stewart…"

They both walked out, sensing that time was beginning to run out.

* * *

The colors of his costume were deeply inverted into the shades of night while his eyes illuminated with brightness, standing upon a rigid and extensively luminescent surface, examining the charred etches that appeared within ethereal black light rays that eerily radiated its purplish glow from high above and far below. His outstretched fingers palpated along the deep chiseled ridges bordering the outer remnants of the huge mounds of the strange metallic debris, hoping to find any clue that could lead to its origin. Known to the League as the Atom, Dr. Ray Palmer had the uncanny ability of controlling his size and weight, and by shrinking down to the very dimensions of his namesake, the alien technology that he was commissioned to inspect, loomed over him as if he were standing next to the Metro Tower itself.

"You say that this is part of the casing that delivered the payload?" he asked, tapping the communicator lodged within his left ear.

"I believe so… and according to Flash the detonation wasn't very powerful…" Batman's voice transmitted back hollowly. "Much of it should be intact, but we're unable to identify its composition. Do you see anything?"

"The superstratum is incredible… the outer skin is superimposed by an ultra-translucent energy field… and it looks as if it's layered within a network of micro-circuitry pathways and unless I miss my guess… it's generating a rotating spectrum… probably why you can't get a fix…" he replied, walking over to another huge broken piece of the strange element.

A semi-domed edifice annexed to one of the largest of the fragments caught his eye, piquing his interest even further. Taking a closer look, Palmer spotted a small fissure midway into the lower region of its contour. Calling upon his power by a twist of the mechanized buckle on his belt, gold bands of energy surrounded him as his size diminished further until the fissure quickly became a wide vertical crevasse. Sliding into darkness, he cybernetically willed his uniform to eradiate a black light of its own, finding himself within a small compartment of more micro-circuitry accompanied with the flashing brilliance of energy zipping about the enclosure straight into a smaller encasement that extruded from the middle of an over-hang just above him.

"Bats… I think I found what may have been part of the control module..."

A small shrouding emerged slowly from within the encasement above his head, where sudden decussate lines appeared in its center, splitting apart, revealing an orb that quietly emitted a dull yellow glow, collecting data of its own.

Bio-Sign Detected …

Scanning…

Scanning Complete…

Species Identified: Human Male In Integral Control Power Section…

Activating Breached Protocol Analysis…

Analyzing Possible Scenarios…

Analysis Complete…

Probable Discovery and/or Intervention of Self-Diagnostic Program at 89.7

Recommended Recourse: Self-Destruct in 60 Seconds

Commencing Count-down…

The orb receded silently back into the encasement as if it had never existed.

"The activity has really picked up in here…" the Atom noticed, realizing that it was getting somewhat brighter within the small compartment; the walls suddenly alive with more brilliant flashes. "The data is leaping through these circuit paths a heckuva lot quicker than on the outer skin... Whoa!!"

"What?" Batman relayed, perplexed, staring fixedly at the small three-legged platform on which the alien material sat upon three feet in front of him.

"Not sure. I thought I saw something on the…"

Before the Atom could finish, a slight, continuous beep erupted from one of the many sensors that were implanted within his suit.

"What the…? A scanning beam was detected…?"

"Did you say a scanning beam?" Batman repeated. _How could that be?_ His mind raced, searching for anything to make sense of this new information, but instead it sparked more questions. _How could debris have the ability of scanning anything? Was this part of the control module where something or someone still had the ability of controlling it? How? Better question: Why?_ Then a thought slammed his mind as hard as a fist. _No!_

"Ray! Get out… get out of there, now!!"

The small explosion cracked loudly, shaking the entire room, rattling all of the surrounding science equipment; billows of white smoke swirling upward toward the ceiling, setting off fire-retardant chemicals that quickly sprayed the area as Batman covered his nose and mouth, his eyes wide with disbelief, staring at the now scarred and deeply dented surface of the laboratory table.

"Ray!!!"

* * *

The enigmatic dust brume floated soundlessly over the dampened pavement of the darkened city street, tiny veins of yellow electricity erupting chaotically within its nucleus of energy. This was no ordinary dust cloud; for it had a sense of purpose, a mission. After its previous encounter with the human, it detected a slight drop in power within the ring's construct, so it recalibrated its sensors and calculated a search vector, to where it could sense any other changes no matter how minute or wherever it occurred within the construct's parameters, and perhaps predict a possible location of where the human could possibly appear. With only one command directive to follow, its mission was clear: destroy the link between the ring and the human, and once that was accomplished the one known as John Stewart would surely die.

Alarms sprang to life within its system as it 'sensed' a sudden ripple of movement far up into the simulated night sky, catching the entity's full attention, but as it tried to scan the new arrival, it proved that whatever it was, it wasn't part of the construct's programming, which meant that this demanded immediate observation. Changing its course and increasing its speed, the cloud hurled itself into the direction to where the strange object was falling quickly from the sky.

* * *

The chromatic array of energy streaked downward from the star-filled sky with dazzling speed, bursting upon the dark city street far below as if it had been launched from a Howitzer cannon at very short range. Shayera Hol stood very still, taking deep breaths, slowly adapting from the sudden halt that was produced by the quick jaunt through what appeared to be cybernated space.

Looking around, her keen eyes swept the perimeter of the new surroundings, amazed with the copasetic landscapes, the twinkling stars in the night sky, and even the dazzling clarity of the night mist that drifted near the surface of the ground near her feet.

_He's not here… J'onn said that the C.A.T.T. could possibly place me close to John's location… so much for that theory… _she thought, smiling weakly.

Feeling stronger, Shayera began to walk with measured caution; listening intently as her footfalls echoed hollowly upon the pavement of the empty city street, quickly reflecting that no matter how real that any of this had appeared, she was realistically within the complex mindscape of the man that she had once loved. Still loved, if she'd let her heart tell it, but she knew that things could never be the same between them. Even though John had openly welcomed her back into the League she knew that the wake of her betrayal had permanently scarred his perception of her, and it didn't surprise her that he had moved on with his life… a life that didn't include her.

Before she knew it, a sudden apprehension buzzed into her mind with the thought of Mari's attempted rescue, and if the ring had tossed out the one person that he was currently 'involved' with, surely it would cast her out in a heartbeat. What the hell was she thinking? What in her right mind made her think that John Stewart would ever want her in his thoughts again?

"Ok… m-maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" Shayera whispered inaudibly, her confidence a little shaken, as the doubts began to take over.

_No…_ she sighed deeply, stopped, and closed her eyes tightly. _This isn't the time… or the place… John needs my help… I can do this…_

Opening her eyes, she glanced around once again, and settled her view on the city lights in the distance, deciding that a quick espial flight through the central part of the city would be the best place to start her search. With a mighty sweep of her wings, Shayera vaulted upward into the night sky, feeling the breeze stream across her face, as she headed for the city's skyline.

* * *

A disruption of brilliant emerald energy suddenly erupted within the cold night air as the Green Lantern streaked upward into a high arc, his speed dissipating once he reached the pinnacle of his climb, and drifted downward until his feet landed upon the stout rooftop of the tallest skyscraper he could find. The trail of the engrossed energy bubble he had in tow glowed brightly as it too, slowly came to a stop, dispersing its circular form to reveal the unconscious Warhawk, laying him gently onto the surface as it quietly regressed itself back into John Stewart's power ring.

_What's goin' on? _Stewart thought, looking at the unconscious youth with uncertainty. _First Gram, and now Rex… if it wasn't for Talak, I'd swear that something is trying to get me to concentrate on what's been good in my life… and clearly my subconscious is unmasking the questions that I've been afraid to ask…_

"Unnngggghhhhh…" moaned Rex Stewart, as he languidly shifted himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his chest. "What hit me…?"

"I'm not sure, Rex."

"D-Dad, this is your mind …your environment, right? Why would it allow anything to attack us?" Rex asked sedately, looking at his father.

Stewart walked over to the edge of the rooftop, and stared downward into the vastness of the city streets below, peppered with sparkling glints of the city's lights.

"That's a good question, son… and for the life of me… I don't have an answer…"

"Then tell me this," Rex demanded, a moment later, getting to his feet, "What did that guy mean when he said that Mom had betrayed you?"

John Stewart turned, eyeing him wearily, "That too, isn't easy to answer..."

"I don't understand. Why would that… of all things, be so hard? It seems like a simple question to me…"

Stewart looked mystified for a moment, realizing that what Rex had said was true. Wouldn't his son deserve to know the truth; to know the real reason behind his father's fear?

Before another word could be spoken, a sudden flash of intense brightness enveloped everything around them, taking away the coolness of the night air, the city streets below, and replaced it abruptly with the blistering heat of a blinding desert sun.

The distinct rumbling of heavy machinery, the clanging of metal upon metal, mixed with audible voices issuing orders, followed by mutual mutterings of compliance, each flooding the area with the unmistakable sounds of a uniformed effort in the assemblage of a massive structure… a structure that John Stewart had come to know as the Hyperspace Bypass.

* * *

"Whoa, Bats… are you ok?! What happened? Was that an explosion?" asked Flash, appearing into the doorway of the laboratory, a gust of wind following, the environmental system kicking on as the unseen fans sucked the smoke into the air vents, clearing the room instantly.

"Yes…" Batman grimaced dryly, holding a set of high powered goggles to his face, covering his eyes, its setting set to 'maximum magnification', carefully looking though the dust covered dent on the laboratory table. A moment later, he sighed with relief when he spotted slight movement, and sudden bands of bright, and spiral gold energy sprang forth encompassing a figure at its core, continually to expand outward, leaping away from the table's edge, steadily growing rapidly just before landing upon the waxed vinyl floor.

"Whew… that was too close," the Atom smiled, covered in soot.

"Are you alright?" Batman smiled back.

"Yeah… I just increased my body's density to absorb the shock of the detonation, just feels like someone hit me with a very hard tennis ball…"

"Will somebody please tell me what's goin' on?" Flash pleaded.

"Nothin' to tell… I asked the Atom to see if he could check out the evidence from Lantern's attack…" Batman explained. "But I didn't anticipate an attack at this level…"

"Yeah… somebody definitely didn't want me to find out anything…" the Atom added, walking over to the science station. "Except they didn't succeed…"

"You mean… you found something?" Flash asked, incredulously.

"You bet I did... I've been hoping for a chance to try out my suit's data storage enhancements… it really helps to have the ability to examine everything while I'm 'exploring'…" the Atom continued, reaching for an interface cable from the science station, attaching one end to the lower heel of his glove, then connecting the other to an auxiliary port on the console, and finally turning on the monitor. "The format I've developed allows me to make the data more latent or compressed until I need it for analysis…"

"Impressive…" Batman acknowledged.

"The circuitry and the transceiver were sending so much data when I received my warning, that I almost missed this…"

Data exploded across the display, the circuits intensifying with each passing moment until the Atom said, "Freeze playback."

"It was luck that you were able to see these fragments at all…"

"What do you mean?"

"According to my data there was some kind of re-generation goin' on…"

"Uh guys… I'm no science expert… but even I know that regeneration is impossible without a power source…" Flash stated, scratching his chin, a matter of fact tone in his voice.

Batman turned, looking at him with an almost scornful look on his face. "We are talking about alien technology here…"

"No… maybe he's right… I didn't see any type of power modules within that debris field, but do you see this?" Palmer asked, still looking at the data on the monitor. Spiked lines of a specific readout stretched out across the screen.

"See… told ya…" Flash smirked slyly.

"This pattern definitely indicates a regenerative adhesion except… no, that's not possible…"

Batman looked at the screen, "What?"

"That power signature…" the Atom's eyes widened. "It's a singularity…"

"A… single what?" Flash asked, really confused now.

"A singularity…" Batman continued. "The power of a star… virtually inexhaustible… and untraceable… unless…"

"Unless you're a Green Lantern and know what to look for," a voice boomed from the doorway.

"Kilowog!" Flash chimed, recognizing the voice. "You can trace this to the source?"

"Not sure… but it may be possible…" Kilowog slowed as he approached the science station, stopping in mid-sentence staring at the monitor. "Wait-a-minute… back that up!"

The Atom looked at him, and then the screen, "Ok… Computer, reverse playback…"

The light patterns streaked backward across the monitor's screen, as the frames from the video became more definitive until one pattern was very different from the others.

"There! Stop it… stop it there…" Kilowog ordered, his face getting closer to the screen. "No way…"

"What? What do you see?" Batman demanded, staring at the screen as well. "What is that… is that a glyph?

"Yeah…" he stammered. "It's the symbol for the Legion of the Third Eye…"


End file.
